Horizons: Dynasty
A "Re-launch" of sorts for the Horizons Legendarium, focusing on each individual Crusader separately, often with a number of major twists and differences. The Guardians of Zion . . . . . . Dynasty: Nexus More of a continuation of the actual Nexus story than a reinterpretation. Delta!Jade is revealed to have survived the events of the Nexus finale, her body recovered and resurrected by the agents of a galactic empire ruled by the violent Scur. Provided with Dimension traveling tech by their mysterious leaders, The Scur launch an invasion of the Horizons Multiverse, lead by "Omega" (The unified, but controlled, personas of Jade and Morgan), and force the Crusaders into a peace treaty. She eventually breaks their control and leads the counterattack against both the Scur and their vampiric overlords. In the process, she learns she is really Pele, a member of "The seventh family", a group of reality warpers who were once the Hawaiian pantheon (Other members include Kane (AKA The Watchmaker) and Poli'ahu, the head of the Court and nominal leader of the Crusaders). Dynasty: Genesis Probably the most influential of the Dynasty works, for one establishing the often re-named Jon/Ixil/Fredrick/Frederick/Skid/Seth's name as William Noble. With a very back-to-basics approach, it reworks the original Crusaders story into a pure high-fantasy saga. Armed with enchanted rings instead of starships, magic instead of futuristic technology and swords instead of guns (Although he gets those later, after being exposed to westerns), it takes a very Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter style approach to things. It also serves to clarify and define many of the earlier Genesis stories. The basic concept, albeit in a heavily modified version, can be found on both the "William J. Noble" and "Essay on the Horizons, Pt1" pages. Dynasty: Frontier Similar to Genesis, the Dynasty approach to Frontier is to scale it down into a single genre, while keeping the general themes and "feel" of the series. This time, it is placed in a science fiction Universe, were the great hero Kanos has recently retired to a backwater world. There he meets, befriends, trains and adopts a young street orphan by the name of "Sam". Notably, the series continues on for some time after Kanos leaves the picture, instead focusing on Sam and her attempts to live up to her Father's legacy. Distilled versions, or even cameos, of the other Crusaders are also seen. A partial but incomplete story based in this Reality can be found on the "Tales of the Universe" page. Dynasty: Revolution Perhaps the most drastic re-imaging, Dynasty: Revolution places Jason as the overthrown heir to a Universe wide kingdom. While seeking to reclaim his throne, he leads up Shark Company, a Suicide squad expry team of Crusaders, working directly for the Demarchic Court. He is notable for the number of crossovers he takes part in, regularly encountering The Black Robots and The Vanquished Hunters and even briefly joining the Adventurers Association, before being replaced by William Noble. Dynasty: Zion Similar to the "Essays on the Horizons", the new line of stories focused on Ixil see him engaged in the story-lines experienced by all seven Crusaders. However, it diverges by adding a long running conspiracy story line, well suited for the manipulative and strategic methods of the fourth Crusader. A cabal of some of the most powerful beings in existence, including most of the Big Bads for the Legendarium proper, plot to re-shape all of the Multiverse in their image. Forced into a multi-dimension chess game lasting thousands of years for the lives of the entire Horizon, Ixil plots to save reality. This series is especially notable for: giving a final end to the Nightmare Lord (Slain in single combat by Poli'ahu), giving a big picture look of the Crusaders as a whole AND codifying the Seventh Family as an integral part of the Horizons mythology. Dynasty: Shattered Shown almost entirely in black and white, this series is one of the bleakest in the entire Horizon. Set on several worlds devastated by a series of apocalyptic events, it focuses on Alastor and his allies struggle to survive. Filled with time travel, hidden secrets, hordes of undead and hints of a doomsday to come, it is a darker take on the life of a Crusader. It does manage to end on a uplifting, or at least bittersweet, note however: The doomsday is revealed to be a second-coming of the messiah for that Universe and the series ends with the main characters in paradise. Dynasty: War-front In contrast to the other entries, Dynasty: War-front scale down it's approach to the Horizon and presents a small scale, personal story. Samantha is a bitter Ex-Guardsman, suffering from both physical and mental scars of a recent war. She is approached in a bar by a mysterious stranger (Later reviled to be the Watchmaker himself) who offers her a mercenary job. Accompanied by a number of fellow retired soldiers, she protects a small defenseless settlement from a seemingly never-ending stream of dangerous and ruthless villains. Overtime, she sets her bitterness aside and after the final climatic battle, settles down in her new-found home.